Bottleneck Gallery sold out of these fast a while ago but now Dark Ink (Acme Studios) has more prints of Eric Tan’s prequel trilogy posters available. Each poster is $50 or get all three for $140. To order go here.

I take no position on this issue because the only thing I’ll ever assert is that ROTS is the best film of the series, but this fan argues why he finds TPM a better film than even the super duper classic ANH:

What isn’t classic about the story of two knights rescuing a queen and helping her restore order to an imperilled kingdom? As a 9 year old I never had a problem with the saga opening in this rather low key manner. After all this was the beginning. A New Hope was different in that we were being introduced to the middle of the saga with events already in progress, but in the Phantom Menace Lucas starts things off with a single ship, and that suits it perfectly. Soon after we get our first real look at what the Jedi in their prime looked like and even without having seen the original trilogy there’s not much need of an explanation to know what they’re about. Good storytelling.

The Wookiee Gunner posted images and info on the upcoming Forces of Destiny line meant to tie in with the animated series. Looks like wave 1 consists of Disney chicks only, with two different Leias coming out sometime after that. Allegedly Ahsoka is due out “later this year.”

One character conspicuously absent is Padmé, even though she is supposed to be featured in the Forces of Destiny series. Of course, it’s not the first time they’ve had amnesia on the prequel trilogy’s main heroine…

It’s been a while since I’ve done an entry for the Sex and the Prequel Trilogy series…the previous installments were about Anakin and Padmé as individuals. This time, I’m addressing them as a couple.

It’s obvious why Anakin falls in love with Padmé. When he first encounters her as a young boy in TPM, she’s probably the first girl he’d ever met who wasn’t a dusty peasant, a slave, or something shady. She takes him under her wing when he leaves home and given that not a lot of people have been very kind to Anakin while growing up and not a lot of people have shown him much affection since his training started, he never forgot her. When he meets her again in AOTC, his affection for her quickly develops another dimension and that is a sexual attraction to her. No longer in her early teens, she has blossomed into a beauty that he can appreciate. Plus she remains as kind and as wise as he’d remembered her.

But a lot of fans have wondered, “Why is Padmé ever attracted to Anakin?” He’s younger, less mature in some ways, and oh yeah there’s that dark temper of his. There’s the obvious answer: Anakin grew up to be a handsome devil. Padmé can see, you know! But what about the rest of it?

Being on adventures together and undergoing life-or-death situations have a curious way of pulling people closer. But I think people have overlooked that Padmé and Anakin are much more alike than unalike. There is a tendency to focus on their differences in age, social status, temperament, etc. than on what they have in common.

For one thing both are prodigies. Padmé’s childhood got cut short when she was recruited into the world of politics. According to background info that may or may not still be canon, she was Princess of Theed at age 12, and in TPM a planetary ruler at 14. Anakin had his gifts with the Force and the potential of becoming the most powerful of all of the Jedi even though he wasn’t yet a decade old. He also had to leave home at an early age to take on greater responsibilities. I think Anakin and Padmé understand that about each other; she warns Anakin not to grow up too soon for a reason.

Another thing is Padmé has as much of a reckless streak as Anakin does. Typho grumbling, “I’d be more worried about her doing something than him” isn’t just there for the hell of it, it describes her accurately. She might not be as impulsive or as quick-tempered as Anakin but there a lot of times she throws caution to the wind, breaks the rules, and gambles big. In TPM, she not only returns to Naboo against everyone’s advice, she retakes her planet and puts herself in danger. She puts herself at risk by coming to Coruscant at the beginning of AOTC and resents being told she has to hide out on Naboo. Later in the film she enables Anakin to go to Tatooine even though they both know they are supposed to remain on Naboo and it was at her insistence they go to Geonosis just after Anakin was ordered to remain on Tatooine. In ROTS, she puts herself in danger by going to Mustafar. In TPM, AOTC, and in TCW, she never hesitates to get into the thick of things, always at great personal risk. Padmé is no throne-sitter and prefers action to being parked behind a desk. It’s natural she would be attracted to a man of action who also doesn’t hesitate to put himself at risk.

Most significantly, they share a strong passion for making a difference, serving something bigger than themselves, and crusading for galactic justice. They may each have their own way of accomplishing those things but they are common motivators nonetheless. I don’t see Padmé genuinely loving anyone as deeply as a man committed to the same things that are closest to her heart.

Even where there are differences, those differences can compliment each other. Padmé’s calmer temperament can balance out Anakin’s fiery nature. Her maturity and knowledge balances out Anakin’s youth and inexperience in the world of galactic politics. Her calm can soothe his fears and anxiety. He offers her someone she can always trust, a confidant, someone who doesn’t want anything from her but her love.

A lot of fans have theorized Padmé views Anakin as a wounded bird she can heal. I think there is some truth to this because Padmé seems naturally drawn to the vulnerable. But I think there is more to that. She knows Anakin’s potential and it ties into what I said about their having a common drive for making the galaxy a better place. In her eyes there’s no one more dazzling than a heroic knight who can save a universe in turmoil.

As someone I read on Tumblr recently, people seem to think a girl who is intelligent, educated, and a tough cookie when need be is incapable of being a romantic (and vice versa). Padmé is all of those things. In fact it’s hard to imagine someone into saving the galaxy who isn’t a romantic.